Michael's experiment ends

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - Basketball superstar Michael Jordan's foray into baseball ended on this date in 1995. The former Chicago Bull gave up his dream of becoming a major league baseball player after one minor league season. Jordan said a players' strike, which was going on at the time, was blocking his development, "As a 32-year-old minor leaguer who lacks the benefit of valuable baseball experience over the past 15 years, I am no longer comfortable that there is a meaningful opportunity to continue my improvement."

Thanks to the fact that Bulls' owner Jerry Reinsdorf also owned the Chicago White Sox, when Jordan retired from basketball in 1994 he was given an opportunity to play for the Birmingham Barons, a White Sox Double-A farm team. He played one season:

Michael Jordan, Birmingham Barons - 1994
Games  -  127
Average  -  .202
Home Runs  -  3
RBI  -  51
Stolen bases  -  30

While his stats were mediocre, 51 runs batted in and 30 stolen bases in 127 games against professional baseball players weren't bad for a guy who hadn't played baseball since he was a kid.

The basketball world now awaited the inevitable - Jordan's return to the National Basketball Association where he led the Chicago Bulls to three championships before retiring in 1993 to try baseball. Michael Jordan returned to the NBA a month after he announced his retirement from baseball. He went on to lead the Bulls to three more world championships - 6 in all.

Contributing sources:
Chicago Tribune, Chicago, IL, March 11, 1995
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